R2 Turn 20 Discussion: Wild Card

[nayami.livejournal.com]

I'm mostly back to attack people with questions. Expect no actual analysis here and expect lots of refuting points that have been made by other posters. As always, no SPOILERS (magazines, episode titles, director commentary...). Warning, this post may be longer than previous ones due to the high levels of non-answers. Also, today's beginning quote comes from rainbow_cnxn, who really puts the situation in perspective. I wanted to use all of it in my cutline but realized it might be spoilericious. Don't worry, I link to the entry with it at the end.



Well, I think if Sunrise can be so cracktacular, I can try a new style of this for today. We shall call it things that make us go "HUH??"

A friend of mine pointed out that R2 can no longer really carry one idea from one episode to the next and that many of the episodes lately seem to almost stand on their own. But wait, you say, what about FREIJA? What about FREIJA indeed. Aside from seeing a giant crater where Tokyo used to be and with the exception of Suzaku and Nina, there has been no significant reaction to FREIJA. This actually really bothers me. The Black Knights' reaction was overwhelmed by OH NOOOES ZERO-SAMAAAA! Kaguya, who really should care more about Japan, seems to be more interested in the treaty with Britannia, and Zero. Sure FREIJA was used to piss off the Black Knights and Tohdoh in Schneizel's epic "Who's That Terrorist" game, but I don't know, I guess I wanted people to care more. It feels very unnatural.

Speaking of unnatural, another friend pointed out the Camelot scene. Tokyo's blown up; let's play pool. Uhhh? Now some have explained Cecile and Lloyd have always been rather detached so I guess I can technically let this slide. Still not happy. But Gino... Gino ought to be punched in the face. After all his lamenting about the use of the bomb in Turn 19, Gino seems fairly laid back. I will accept that it could be a tension settler. But I don't know, go outside and train, get in the Knightmare and beat something up, get drunk... something less oblivious than playing pool. The music didn't help either. Also, I want to see the damn cat so I know it's alive. It's important to me.

Marianne. Now the question that's been posed is whether Marianne can use the geass possession thing whatever at will. What motivated her to suddenly use it this time? If Marianne is as lackluster a mother as she makes herself out to be, why has she always protected her son from Anya? Why has she never shown up before now as her son has slowly slipped into madness? Why has she said nothing about Nunnally? Is she working with Charles? Is she referring to Lelouch or Charles when she asks C.C. whether they should help "him" out? Who is the "our" in her question about whether C.C. is on "our" side? Has Marianne been using Lelouch this whole time just like Charles? Why did we never see Anya in S1? Where was the foreshadowing? This is such a huge thing that it had to be in the original story. What about the real Anya? What is she to Marianne? Also is there a relationship between Marianne and Bismarck? Are Charles and Marianne secretly keeping everyone else in the dark?

Let's move onto to Charles' plan? So... are we ever going to learn what these "gods" are? Because I'm beginning to think Charles sees things. Seriously. What are the freaky DNA strands? Are they the weapon? They kind of looked like they had faces but I wasn't sure. What exactly is the point of the whole geass hand? So what happens when the geass marks on the ground are activated? Does the area blow up? ARE THE PENGUINS GOING TO DIE??? And what is the deal with Monica? Is she actually important to this whole mess or just the pilot of the day? On that note, WHERE THE HELL IS NONNETTE?

Ok. Questioning rants done. Onto the characters. We'll do Lelouch first since he makes me sob and his screentime was fairly limited. FOR ONCE. First, I am so glad a chunk of fandom is sooo excited Lelouch is geassing people to do what he says forever. I guess it's just another testament to how far he's gone off the deep end. But then again, people eat this stuff up right? Moving along... happy points happy points... oh yes, lovely moment with Lelouch saying he won't be able to make the fireworks and that his room is gone. No more Lelouch Lamperouge. Le sigh. I did laugh pretty hard that Lelouch still has to have his grand entrances. Foreshadowing anyone? I mean, right down to the music. And I do love how happy he is when he tells Charles that they will be spending the rest of eternity together. D'awww father/son bonding. They have a lot to catch up on, hopefully minus the Princess Tutu moment this time. My biggest issue with this is that it looks a lot like the Geass plot might actually wrap up by the end of 21, especially considering the pacing of the latest episodes -- MY HEAD ASPLODE -- so what will they do with the remaining four?

Schneizel? Interesting focus on the rolling pool ball, which as someone pointed out to me rolled itself into the pocket. The playful suggestion was that Sunrise is being deep and implying Schneizel will lead himself to his own destruction. Well, he's sure not as bright at his brother. A young possibly crazy teenager, who just blew up the city he loves and was previously about to make an alliance with Public Enemy No.1, tells you to stage a coup and what do you do? YES, MY LORD! Still gots your authority, Knight of Seven. But someone else also mentioned that Schneizel seems to be losing his slickness, even implying to Cornelia that he is not quite on the up and up. That "probably" was disturbing. And we do know how Schneizel loves to order toys. And Kanon... what is his deal?

Royal family analysis takes us to Numero 2 and surviving li Britannia, Cornelia. Some have mentioned Cornelia seems softer than usual; I do hope she ends up realizing that Schneizel is a git. Seeing as he's using her. That whole scene with him and Kanon telling her Guilford fired the bomb and never mentioning that Guilford is DEAD was not about protecting a knight's reputation. Some have even suggested it is setting Cornelia up for later scapegoating, note the liberal use of "He was truly your knight." Ouch. Note, also Cornelia's reaction to hearing Guilford fired FREIJA. Also important to remember that Cornelia still doesn't know Guilford turned on Britannia. Tricksy tricksy.

And then we have the not!Britannian. The wild card. The newest student in Lelouch mentality. Suzaku. I have mixed feelings on Suzaku. On one hand, I liked his realization that his current stance will not save anyone, something he was already starting to grasp in Turn 17. But the question is what exactly is the nature of the final push FREIJA gave? We start with Suzaku viciously congratulating Nina for the bomb. Which may I add was AWESOME. Remember, I am willing to give Nina some pity, but yes someone needed to tell her straight up. We move along to Suzaku starting shit with practically the entire cast of Camelot, as he feigns off his true reason for firing FLEIJA and pretends it was a purposeful act. Suzaku wants Albion like burning. Why? He doesn't need Albion to take on Charles. But Suzaku does need permission, otherwise he's a rogue knight. We have seen Suzaku use his methodical side before aka the bargain in Turn 2. And Schneizel seems to suffer from the same hubris that plagues all royal Britannian males... maybe not Odysseus. Arrogant the lot of them. How well does Suzaku know Schneizel?

We have our beloved "Sword of Despair" and a reminder that Suzaku has taken a page from Lelouch's book and is now willing to blame Geass for so much tragedy. Everyone wants to blame Geass. Well, I guess you could argue Geass is at fault. Without it, Lelouch would have just died in Stage 1 so most of the major characters that have died would still be alive. Wow. But it is interesting that Suzaku does not blame Lelouch for geassing him to live and thereby firing FREIJA, he simply blames Geass. I guess you can't blame someone when you finally realize that they did what they did to save your life, because you were important to them. So it seems Suzaku is no longer furious with Lelouch. Still out to stop him? That's another matter.

He does seem to be running toward him when Lelouch shows up on everybody's favorite island. Yes, you heard me. I said he was running toward Lelouch. No, I don't care that the geass is still showing. Why the hell would he run away from Bismarck when Bismarck's taking phone calls and no longer posing a threat? His geass doesn't start flashing until Bismarck's sealed geass glows. It's not like they can't be in the same area together. That would have made KotR meetings terribly awkward. "Ok is everyone here... Lord Kururugi, where the hell are you going?" Anyway yes, it doesn't add up. Bite me. While here, I want to add that Bismarck makes me lol in that he moves just like a game boss. I seriously think I fought him in Kingdom Hearts II, right down to that ridiculously large sword. It's nowhere as sexy as Suzaku's sword. That swordfight needed to be longer. Also, where else but Geass, do you find a literal plothole? Why was anyone even shooting at them? Seeing as we all remember point one -- that Geass cannot carry an idea from one episode to the next -- I imagine the next time we see Suzaku, he will be walking around somewhere, hole completely forgotten. Bet on it!

But aside from all that nonsense, the question on so many minds is what is Suzaku doing? There are the usual cries of "Oh he's just crazy." There are theories of plans to bring down Britannia from the inside. There's the Darth Suzaku mutterings. We don't know because as was pointed out to me, Sunrise never lets us hear Suzaku's thoughts. Never. The pains of being the wild card. Suzaku is our only surprise left in a way. We can usually predict Lelouch this season. AKA MOAR CRAZY NOW. But Suzaku... who knows? Gino and Lloyd suspect something is up. But what do they suspect exactly? They say Suzaku isn't acting like himself. With Schneizel? With the push for Albion? Why the posturing, if that is what it is? Why does he want to be Knight of One? What good is a Knight of One when Japan has now allied with Britannia. It has pretty much ensured its protection. There's no point in acquiring his own area. Does he actually want to be the Knight of One? The only thing we are remotely sure of is that Suzaku blames Geass. What about his new "ends justify the means" stance? What about his Lelouchian "throw away emotions." Hmm, didn't he just attack in the name of his friends? Umm... Bismarck chastises him for thinking he can throw away his kindness, saying it's his strength. So what is the lie here? What are Suzaku's true intentions? And what will he do in a plot where Geass is most likely to become a back-burner by 22? Fangirl me wants Japanese!Suzaku, but Sunrise has been very vicious to fangirl me lately. So my newest strategy is to propose the most insane theory ever and then hope that Sunrise tricks me again and actually applies sanity. Who knows, reverse psychology might answer. But I'm not clever enough for whacky crack theories so I will leave them to you, dear readers.

Yay C.C. is back. I can almost forgive that the reasoning made no sense. Because yay C.C. But we must wonder who is she more loyal to: Lelouch or Marianne? She won't tell Marianne why she hid her Code. Does this mean C.C. is still immortal? She also looks unsettled/perturbed when Marianne suggests saving "him." Why did C.C. never tell Lelouch about Marianne? Or better yet WHAT WAS THE POINT OF MOEBLOB!C.C.? We learned nothing new about her character from that? Lelouch was too busy sulking to really interact, aside from being a bully. Was her loss that important? Nunnally was the only one that really mattered. The whole thing just irks me but yay C.C.

Other notes:

-Diethard agrees that Ougi is all about Villetta. :\
-Kaguya wanting to confirm whether Zero is dead is awesome, as is her acknowledgment that Zero isn't really her husband. D'aww you make me like you, Kaguya.
-Jeremiah calls bullshit.
-Lloyd shows his dark side. Will he give Albion to another out of spite?
-Gino seems pretty damn loyal to the empire. Um why do we still have defection talk? Unless he defects if someone actually manages to kill the emperor?
-Rivalz got screentime. :`)
-The Black Knights are going to crash and burn. It's going to be glorious.

I think the chart here sums up things better than I ever could. In conclusion, WTF Geass WTF?

Comments

[klingon-jedi.livejournal.com]

She doesn't sound very moe to you at all. Which is why it's inaccurate (and I just don't like that "moeblob" is a word now)^_^, but let's not get into terms that have no english equivalent Maybe cute was wrong too, just trying to be clever. It wasn't meant as a commentary on her either. I very much prefer good old bitter CC. Though the childish one was interesting in making one wonder what horrors the poor girl had to live through. Though I don't view it as an insult in the least. Yes she's pathetic and merely a waif, but that's the point. It allows a little retrospective and contrast for her, allowing a little insight we'd normally not get, and provides a different character that reacted in a different way to guide Lelouch. Add in the reason's why she became that, and it's actually not that bad of a plot point for her. no need to get fussy about it T_T;;;

Ummm, I think you misinterpreted me on the second point. I wasn't referring to Shirley (big shock there I know ^_^), I was referring to the scene in Turn 16. Lelouch is freaking out about Charles and Nunnally, so he accidentally takes it out on CC. While both reflecting on her past and his own nerves, he asks her what she'd turn to if she were down. She mentions friendship, which leads him to think of turning to Suzaku for help (you've got to love the bloody black king in the scene). I was saying how that never would've happened had CC been there instead of Childish2 (is that better?), if only because she'd have eaten all the pizza ^_^. Sure, they might've found a way to have her suggest it, but the scene works beautifully as is. Especially since it was obvious he never would've asked for Childish2's advice in the first place.

Which add in your points on CC not being there or the first point. Hence part of the whole losing everything bit. His normal confidant is missing and he can't vent his frustrations at her. Which makes the whole scene that much more surprising. Of course we know he's messed up, but it's another thing, however small you may take it, to add to. He didn't have her to relay on, or at least talk to. Your line, "Lelouch really needs someone to be strong for him and he has essentially a child. He's frantic, lost and terribly angry. His confidant is gone and he doesn't understand what he's been left with, he doesn't understand why." sums that part up.

Whether one likes it or not, regressed CC wasn't quite as pointless as some think.

I'm sure the general populace is freaked. The military probably not so much, and the OotBKs are fretting too much about their own asses. Though with only two days passed (FREIJA was fired around dawn of the day 19 took place, with 20 probably the next day, or the day after FREIJA), and a bunch of plot to fill in, there's not much that can be done.

As for Marianne, like I said, it's not the most satisfying as it does indeed reek of bad/re-writing. They could've decided to pull this about Marianne very late in the game. Though that's what they've given us. Add in CC's presence in the flashbacks, and Anya's peculiarities, and it sort of works if you don't think about it too much. I vaguely remember Charles talking to Clovis, but i don't remember it being the outright conversations CC and Marianne seemed to have. It's been awhile, and I'll admit your memory is better than mind on this stuff. still, it sort of works.

[nayami.livejournal.com]

Oh sorry for the confusion about the "friends" part. Looking back on your scene, you're right, I can see now why he made the logic leap he did.

It's true the Charles/Clovis conversations aren't exactly the same, but then more focus is given on C.C. as well and they have to be cryptic elusive with Charles. I always thought it was an indication that those connected to geass could commune with the dead.

[klingon-jedi.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was sort of thinking that at one time too, though we were unaware of the emperor's Geass at the time. There's still a lot we don't entirely know. Though we know what we need to.

Nice Princess Tutu icon. I still need to finish that one.